Though forward collision warning (FCW) has been available for more than 15 years, you might not know what it is or what it does. Let’s take a closer look at this technology.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), forward collision warning reduces front-to-rear crashes with injuries by 27%. When combined with automatic braking, the system cuts accident rates with injuries by 56%.
What is Forward Collision Warning?
Forward collision warning is a driver safety system that uses radar, lasers, or cameras to detect other vehicles in the front area of the driver’s car. Some safety systems can also detect other objects, like people, cyclists, and animals in the path of a moving vehicle.
How Forward Collision Warning Works
If your vehicle is equipped with this safety feature, the system alerts the driver through visual, aural, or tactile methods. Sometimes it issues a warning in just one of these ways, and sometimes with a combination of warnings. It depends on the system’s design and, if the option to customize the notification exists, how the vehicle’s owner has calibrated it.
Not all of them work the same way.
If the system employs automatic emergency braking, the technology can slow or stop the vehicle before impact if the driver takes no action. If the system is not paired with automatic emergency braking, it will only warn the driver, who must take action.
Some forward collision warning systems operate only at slower city speeds. Others work at higher speeds. Some systems can detect pedestrians, bicyclists, and large animals, while others cannot. Some cars include rear collision warnings, and others don’t.
If this seems confusing to you, check your owner’s manual. It will explain your vehicle’s capabilities.
If you buy a vehicle equipped with a warning system, it is crucial that you understand how it works. You need to know what it can and cannot do to help you avoid a collision.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) says that 40% of drivers who own a vehicle with the system do not understand its limitations. Also, they fail to realize that forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking are not the same.
More: KBB’s Best Safety Rated Cars
Forward Collision Warning is No Substitute for Staying Alert
For safety reasons, always stay alert while behind the wheel. Think twice before turning off the forward collision warning system. It’s a safety feature that can help save your life.
If you own a vehicle equipped with forward collision warning, the systems that provide the information to the technology don’t always work. This technology is an occasional aid to a driver, not a regular replacement for a driver.
Open that owner’s manual so that you know what your forward collision warning system can and cannot do.
And, if you suspect something is not working correctly, use Kelley Blue Book to find a repair shop that can service your vehicle.
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FAQs
Vehicles with forward collision warning alert the driver of potential impacts through visual, aural, or haptic prompts. If the vehicle employs automatic emergency braking, it can slow or stop before impact if the driver takes no action.
How does forward collision warning work? ›
If equipped, Forward Collision Alert uses a forward-looking camera or camera and radar sensors (depending on how your vehicle is equipped) to look directly ahead to monitor vehicles you're following when your vehicle is in FORWARD gear. When the feature detects a vehicle ahead, it will display a green icon.
How does full speed forward collision warning plus work? ›
FCW Plus constantly scans the road and monitors the cars in front by picking up the information from the forward-looking radar sensor as well as the Electronic Brake Controller (EBC).
What does predictive forward collision warning do? ›
This world's first system warns the driver of risks that may be obscured from the driver's forward field of vision. It can not only sense the relative velocity and distance of a vehicle directly ahead, but also of a vehicle travelling in front of the preceding one.
Does forward collision warning stop your car? ›
Forward collision warning can alert you of an impending collision with a slower moving or stationary car in front of you. What It Does: Designed to alert you to a hazard ahead so that you can brake or swerve in time. What It Does Not Do: Forward collision warning alone will not automatically brake for you.
Does forward collision alert need to be calibrated? ›
Forward Collision Warning is part of an ADAS system. For ADAS systems to properly operate, the sensors and cameras must be calibrated. Calibration is required after any sort of accident or repair.
Why wont my forward collision warning work? ›
Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist disabled. When the front windshield where the front view camera is located, front radar cover, bumper or sensor is covered with foreign material, such as snow or rain, it can reduce the detecting performance and temporarily limit or disable Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist.
What causes FCW failure? ›
If your FCW system fails, it means one or more components of the FCW system are malfunctioning. Your FCW system can sometimes fail even if there's nothing wrong with your vehicle. For example, bad weather conditions can interfere with your FCW system.
At what speed does pre-collision system work? ›
Pre-collision brake assist – When vehicle speed is approximately 19 mph or more and, for detecting a pedestrian, when vehicle speed is between approximately 19 mph and 50 mph.
Where is the forward collision warning sensor? ›
The Intelligent Forward Collision Warning system uses a radar sensor located in the front of the vehicle to detect the distances between the two cars ahead, as well as their relative speed.
VO: Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking is a driver-assist system that monitors the road ahead of you while driving. VO: It even works at night when your vehicle's lights are on. Pre-Collision Assist is active at approximately 3 mph. Pedestrian Detection is active up to 50 mph.
What is the standard forward collision warning system? ›
FCW notifies drivers, typically with a visual, audible or tactile alert (or a combination of these) when it senses a likely collision with a car directly ahead. It uses sensors and radar located in the front of the car to gauge how close a driver is to the vehicle in front of it.
What speed is the forward collision warning? ›
If equipped with front corner radar, the function judges that avoiding a collision is difficult even by changing the driving lane, it will operate when your vehicle speed is between approximately 10~100 km/h (6~62 mph).
What is the difference between AEB and FCW? ›
FCW systems typically sound an audible alert if a front collision is likely, allowing the driver to begin an avoidance maneuver. AEB systems, which generally include FCW functionality, apply the vehicle's foundation brakes to prevent or mitigate a forward impact if the driver does not intervene.
How does forward collision avoidance assist work? ›
Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist is designed to help detect and monitor the vehicle ahead or help detect a pedestrian or cyclist in the roadway and warn the driver that a collision is imminent with a warning message and an audible warning, apply emergency braking.
What sensor is used for forward collision warning? ›
System operation
The Intelligent Forward Collision Warning system uses a radar sensor located in the front of the vehicle to detect the distances between the two cars ahead, as well as their relative speed. This allows the system to assess the situation in front of the vehicle.
